LED Gem Car headlights
Hey folks like many of you have found out the stock Gem Car headlights are pretty inadequate . I was searching the web looking for an oval LED headlight that would be a direct replacement. I was not very interested in modifying the car I wanted something that I could unplug my stock headlights and plug some new brighter LEDs in
Most of the LEDs on the market come into configurations
Flood light . This is great for a overhead light where you don’t need a focused or intense been but merely light up the area you’re in
This is great for a overhead light where you don’t need a focused or intense been but merely light up the area you’re in
Spotlight: to definitely this is a long narrow beam most flashlights are a spotlight configuration . For the most part traditional car headlights are spotlights that have a wider beam
I found these lights on Amazon that are a combination flood and spot. Each headlight has two LED diodes one is a spot configuration and the other is a flood. So it seems as they would work good I was a Gem Car headlight .
Of course I was most LED headlights they are listed for off-road use only so purchase and use them at your own risk . I will note that I’ve used off-road LED style headlights on other vehicles and I’ve never had a problem as far as getting a ticket . As long as you don’t have your headlights blinding other drivers it doesn’t seem like it would ever be an issue. The alignment of the headlight or where the light is shining seems to have way more affect then the actual brightness of the light. A good rule of thumb is to have a friend sitting in his car and you have your gem pointed out your friends car as if you were driving down the road and you were passing each other adjust your headlights to the optimum angle and have your friend give you feedback on the angle.
I also have a 12" long double row 24 led unit hanging from the chrome bumper on my 2008.E2 Anniversary Edition. They are bright as day but due to the low to the ground location do not give the long distance light needed for high speed travel.
Rascal: i have the D2 Rigid knock offs on my GEM they are floods. They are from a company called sidetracked off-road. They do a great job as headlights. I would say they project 40-60 yards no problem. And the beam is pretty wide. I also have a light bar mounted up top that projects real far 200 yards or more. Here is a video of both lights in action. The light bar is again from the same company.
The head lights were like $85
The light bar was $200
the “blinding other cars” is more about where you have your lights pointed more then how much light they are throwing. You can always lower the lights if they are blinding oncoming cars.
I use my headlights like low beam and the Light bar as a High Beam.
The “spots” (10-20% pattern width) do not blind oncoming drivers if adjusted correctly. The “floods” could annoy some drivers due to the much wider light pattern width. My bottom light bar has flood led’s at each end and spots in the center. Viewed from the front about a half block away, the floods at each end are just a blob of blinding light. The center spot led’s light do not blind unless you happen to be in their 10-20% target area. The low (7" off the ground) location of that light bar is their only saving grace to oncoming drivers.
I only drive on streets in my gated complex and not on city streets. So far, I have not had any negative responses from on coming drivers. Although the large flow of snow turds has not arrived. The traffic now is sparse on our streets. I am looking forward to installing the new “spots”. Many of the birds standard golf carts have front lights that are not adjusted and are blinding. I am going to burn the paint off the front of these carts.
My low beam switch is hooked to the lower light bar. The high beam side of the switch will be hooked to both the new led head lights and the lower bar. I will be installing the new “spots” in the location of the old ceiled beam headlights this week. I’m hoping for a little cooler weather here in south FL. Or, repair the garage air conditioner. Its still hot (90’s) and humid here in paradise…
The White plastic block is a spacer that puts the light in the center of the light bucket.
I used the factory bolt holes at the top of the hood to drill into the white plastic blocks and bolt them into place. Those are the black dots you see on the top of the hood
I got to try out the lights tonight. The worked out great. They are not crazy bright but just right. We took the car out to dinner passed many cars and no one flashed so I assume we are good to go.
For the money these light are a great deal. For the plug and play ability they are great as well. Compared to stock lights it’s a huge improvment and I know the power consumption is got to be 1/2 of what the stock lights use
Simple you grab them and you move them and then tighten them down. Sorry don’t know how to explain other then that , they can be moved around and aimed no problem
Thank you regarding aiming… Although I question how much light only 2 leds per light can throw, distance wise, on a dark unlit road at night at 30+ mph. I’m a believer in “You get what you pay for” … sometimes you don’t even get that.
But then again. The Stones said it best: You don’t always get what you want… But you just might get what you need.
Two lights per side might be all you need. Me, I need more.
I’m driving on very well lit city roads. It wasn’t until I went Dow some very dark unlit county roads did I think I need a upgrade. These lights are no Rigid D2’s but they are not crap either. For under $50 they are well worth it
And 1 more thing. I have quite the light set up on my other car so I to can appreciate a car with real bright lights. The thing is I would never get away with it in the city. The GEM with the real bright lights I’m constantly turning them from High beam to Lows because I don’t wanna blind people. You get used to the Bright but from having both .
It’s nice to have a happy medium something bright that does the job. And then a Death Ray overhead light bar.
